It would be great if we could control when and what information was shown through the form field error messages. For example, I would like to add contextual information here without making the field mandatory:
Currently you can achieve this functionality with either valid_if statements or show() columns, however both have drawbacks:
- Generally there should be a hierarchy of how information is presented within a form. It would be sensible for contextual information about a specific field to always live in the same spot. When considering where the error messages are displayed, show() columns don’t conform to this. Show() columns are also more work to implement, as they must be explicitly added and arranged in the various UX views.
- Valid_if statements make the field mandatory.
Some examples where this would be beneficial:
- Prompting for comment when certain conditions are met
- Prompting user to verify information when abnormal values are input
- Providing users with basic contextual information about other application variables or data such as previously entered values